VERACRUZ 2014: Day 11 – Rain Forest to Zocalo
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Dec 3, 2014 | by Adrian Binns
Day 11 / Oct 12: Ruiz Cortines; Las Barrancas
Ruiz Cortines with Braulio
On this last day of our Veracruz trip we visited one of the best birding sites in the region, the cloud forest at Ruiz Cortines. There we were met by Braulio Malega, local guide, Tuxtla Quail-Dove expert, and great friend. The cool drizzly weather slowed bird activity but did not dampen our spirits, as we relished the experience of birding beneath the thick forest canopy in this picturesque mountain range.
We were pleased to find a Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Spectacled and Buff-throated Foliage-gleaners, and abundantly calling White-breasted Wood-Wren. We enjoyed nice looks at the Chestnut “Plain-breasted” Brush-Finch, an endemic subspecies of only this mountain range. We heard the calls of our target Tuxtla Quail-Dove, also an endemic of this Los Tuxtlas Mountain range, but were unfortunately unable to locate the bird. When the rains came in earnest, we headed into the nearby town to have a hot drink and snack at Braulio’s family’s restaurant.
The skies cleared and we headed to a forest patch on the other side of town. Walking the dirt track we spotted Yellowish Flycatcher, a more southern species usually found south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but with a small and isolated population here in the Los Tuxtlas Mountains. We also located the local endemic Long-tailed Sabrewing, and a lovely cooperative pair of male and female Collared Trogons.
We devoured a delicious lunch back at the restaurant in town, then enjoyed a tour of the nearby gardens where we tracked down a calling Yellow-bellied Elaenia. Reluctantly we said goodbye to Braulio and his family, then settled in for the drive back north to the City of Veracruz. We couldn’t resist a quick stop at Las Barrancas where we enjoyed both Fork-tailed and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, possibly the same ones we saw two days ago!
We arrived in the port city to our historic hotel on the edge of the exciting main square. After a celebratory beer we headed for a fantastic seafood dinner and people-watching on the lively “zocalo.” We lingered over our final checklist of the trip, remembering spectacular hawk flights, colorful tropical birds and many wonderful sightings on our 2014 ‘River of Raptors’ tour!
– Robert Straub